Novel showstopper at the Geneva Motor Show



Geneva, Feb 28, 2006
The Mercedes-Benz press conference at the Geneva Motor Show culminated in a surprising two-wheel display when, shortly before the end of the Mercedes presentation, Thomas LaSorda, Head of the Chrysler Group, rode onto the stage on a hand-crafted high-tech tandem to pick up his boss, Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of the Mercedes Car Group. The two top managers then joined forces to ride to the Chrysler Group stand. This special surprise picked up on Zetsche's reference to "individual mobility" and the wide range of Mercedes-Benz products during his earlier presentation. Zetsche: "We offer our customers premium products in every market segment – from high-end passenger cars to bicycles."

The tandem, built especially for the press conference, was developed and exclu-sively hand-crafted by a company called Juchem which is based at Vorpochten in Ulmen, Germany. Juchem bikes feature custom-designed frames. And the one-off model ridden by Dieter Zetsche and Thomas LaSorda is no exception. Interested editorial teams can test the tandem used at the Geneva Motor show by contacting Tobias Müller (+49 711 17-77368).

Juchem tandem specifications
Length 2470 mm
Width 600 mm
Height 1060 mm
Wheelbase 1825 mm
Frame Juchem custom-built aluminium frame with full suspension
Fork Rock Shox Pike 426 U-Turn
Gear change Rohloff 500/14 CC EX Tandem
Brakes Magura Louise FR 210 Tandem
Rims Syncros DPS 32
Hub (front) Syncros
Cranks Stronglight Oxale
Tyres Conti Flow Pro Tection 26x2.3
Shocks DT Swiss HVR 200
Saddle Selle Italia SLR
Handlebar/stem/headset Ritchey
Paint finish AluBeam Bluetec

DaimlerChrysler Media

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Mercedes Automatic Bicycle



Safety and comfort - the Automatic Bike: Equipped with a Shimano 'Cyber-Nexus' eight-speed gear shift system and sensor-controlled lights, the bike adapts itself to the current cycling conditions. The central on-board computer mounted on the handlebar stem provides the rider with important information such as the current bike speed and the engaged gear.

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yeah they sell those bikes here at the dealership. Prices are in the $2,000s and up and I have the offical paper work from the dealership to prove it.

 

A novelty bike or status symbol. Too heavy to be a serious bike. It's weird they didn't mention the weight (or did I miss it?). That's the first question a real bike rider asks.

 

They look heavy and old

 

The tandem bike has a full suspension. That's only good for bragging rights. Too much of your pedaling energy goes into compressing the rear suspension. You have to pedal harder than necessary to make it go. They look cool, though.

A front suspension is not affected as much. It compresses more from road irregularities than pedaling.

That "old" look is the hybrid style of bike. It's a cross between the road bike and mountain bike. Slightly fatter tires gives it the older look.

 

I'll keep my Trek 850 for trail riding and my Giant 640 Se for when it gets more bumpy.

 

I had a mtn bike and still have a road bike, but it's for sale. I just ride a hybrid nowadays. I'm keeping that one.

 

Yeah hybrid is basically a non suspension mountain bike with smooth tires acually that Trek i have was offered with smooth or mountain tires.

 

They are surprisingly light weight. You can pick one up easy with one hand. Trust me I went to the dealership and checked on out while checking out the Smart car. I comes with a speedometer, a tach.

The fitness version weighs 13.5 kg, Mountain weighs 13.9 kg and the Automatik-bike as it called weighs 20 kg. And of course it comes with a bunch of gadgets, Mercedes style.

Ever seen the Porsche bikes?

 

I didn't mean it's a ****ty bike. But for $2K, a serious cyclist would buy one that weighed a lot less. Most of the weight savings would be from eliminating the gizmos. Most people aren't serious, though. That's why there's a market for vanity and novelty bikes like the M-Bs. If it were me, I would buy a bare, non-suspension, carbon fiber frame and put my Shimano Ultegra components on it.

An aluminum frame, such as on the M-Bs are lighter and more expensive than most bikes like the ones you get at Wal-Mart, etc. For the features listed, the M-B is priced about right, if the $2K you mentioned is for the silver-colored hybrid. It has top-of-the-line components (Shimano), and a few spiffy, but I think unnecessary options, like a front disc brake. I don't have any problem locking up my brakes and they weigh far less. The computer on my road bike does the same stuff and was a $120 option. Not a big deal, IMO. Any bike with Shimano Ultegra brake/shifter sets can use them. For bikes that don't, a computer is available that does everything except display the current gear being used.

A serious top end hybrid or road bike will set you back at least $4K. That's about where the carbon fiber frames start at.

I haven't seen a Porche bike. Peugeot makes bicycles too. Or, lends their name to a bicycle. Not sure which.